Commissioner sees a full plate in 2023

Jan. 2—It's been a busy year for Brunswick's city commission.

In an interview with The News on Friday, Commissioner Julie Martin said it's probably time to sit back and make sure all the projects and initiatives the city has started come to fruition most efficiently and effectively.

"We're at a point where we need to be very detail-oriented," Martin says.

In 2022, the commission expanded the city's economic enterprise zone to stretches of Norwich and Albany streets, opening the door to financial incentives for new businesses and developments; started the design process for a bike trail along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; finished a paved walking path to give kids from Glynn Middle School a safe route into nearby neighborhoods; refocused the Urban Redevelopment Agency on the Oglethorpe Block development project; passed an ordinance banning urban camping in public spaces; started work on a new tree protection ordinance; began laying the foundations for a public transit system; and received multi-million dollar grants for two major projects — upgrading St. Mark's Towers and improving the stormwater drainage system in the College Park neighborhood.

That's a substantial list of tasks to keep track of, not to mention the passage of SPLOST 2022 in November, with its extensive list of infrastructure projects and equipment purchases, and the conclusion of the city-county local option sales tax negotiations, ending with the city's decision to reestablish its own independent recreation department.

On the private side of things, the city has also given the green light to three new apartment complexes totaling more than 500 residential units in the city limits.

With so much going on, it's likely commissioners could spend the next year just shepherding these tasks to completion. The tree ordinance is one subject Martin is particularly interested in.

As a realtor, she knows firsthand how much a single old live oak can improve a property's beauty and, by extension, its value. The challenge is convincing developers that the added value of the tree is greater than the convenience of clear-cutting properties.

"As a realtor, it drastically improves the property value," she said.

Martin doesn't want a repeat of the Oak Park Motel incident, in which the old motel was demolished and several huge oaks cut down "in the dark of night" to make way for two new medical providers across U.S. 17 from Goodyear Elementary School.

One of the three large apartment complexes the commission green-lit is slated for a property just north of that, where the former Golden Isles Inn is undergoing demolition. That parcel and the adjacent one, once a trailer park, is home to a virgin forest, she says. Per a special stipulation from the city commission, the project's architects will have to check in with the city at multiple stages while they design the new apartments and adjoining commercial complex.

"We want them to understand the value of oak trees," Martin says. "They are irreplaceable."

Updating the city's tree ordinance plays into that, she says. Under the current ordinance, most trees can be cut down. Some, like live oaks, have to be replaced by newer plantings if a developer wants them gone.

"But that's a poor substitution," she added.

In the meantime, she hopes the other city commissioners will continue to join her in negotiating with developers to save trees and potentially offer incentives to make it work their while.

Trees aren't the only concern when it comes to new developments, however. Affordability, stormwater drainage and traffic impact also concern commissioners, she says.

While it's not enshrined in the city's code, the commission did get a commitment from one developer to dedicate a certain percentage of new units to below- market-rate housing.

Proactive cleaning of drainage systems has helped to an extent with stormwater, and the municipal government has several more projects in the hopper, she added. That many more residents will also undoubtedly put more pressure on roads, but Martin is optimistic a combination of pedestrian and vehicle infrastructure projects, some recently completed and more on the way, will keep the impact minimal.

A new transit system is intended to serve as another release valve as well as help residents without cars get around town easier. She personally didn't like a consultant's recommendation of starting with a fleet of vehicles for ride-sharing rather than one bus and a fixed route.

"The worst thing you can do is start out with excess rolling stock, it's expensive to maintain," she said.

Keeping it small initially is the way to go. Once it's established, she's hopeful that major employers will participate in the program, as it can help bolster their workforces with residents who may not have reliable transportation, she said.

The Coastal Regional Commission could also be a partner, she said. Its Coastal Regional Coaches can't operate inter-city routes, but the commission plans to discuss with the organization whether it can provide transit into and out of the city on a fixed route.

Providing services like the transit system and maintaining a good stock of below-market-rate housing are both efforts intended to balance out new development with gentrification, she said, to keep Brunswick diverse and dynamic. A rising tide lifts all ships, but "You don't want the boat to leave people behind," she added.

With all of this to keep track of, Martin said she still has some new topics she'd like to tackle soon, if not in 2023, such as turning the Brunswick-Glynn County Land Bank into a more active and progressive organization. Planning, Development and Codes Director John Hunter runs it, but as busy as he is the land bank really needs a dedicated director, she said.

Revisions to the city's short-term rental ordinance and continuing efforts to address the issue of homelessness are also on the platter for 2023. The municipal government recently passed a measure to offer grants to people about to lose their homes or face eviction, which will ideally keep many from becoming homeless in the first place.

Finally, Martin said she hopes to see tourism become a focus of the city's efforts in 2023. It has a lot of history and beautiful natural resources. A public art program would benefit that goal. The closest thing the city has is a collection of murals, but Martin would like to see more in the way of sculptures, maybe in the southeast quadrant of Queen Square. That section of the square has yet to be fully restored. A fire station sat on the lot in the days of horse-and-buggy transportation, she said, and a sculpture nodding to that heritage would make a nice attraction.